Illuminating assembly for indicating instruments



United States Patent .ILLUMINATING ASSEMBLY FOR.- INDICATING INSTRUMENTS George'tKaiCaHai-desty, zMayo, M'd.

.Applicafilm August.-22,. 19'52, Serial.No. 305,930

LGlim. -(Cl. 116-129) -.(Gl:antedi under .Title. 35, .U. S. .Code (1952), sec. 266) 'iFhei-jnvention described therein may 1 be manufactured madiusedibyiorfifor the Govemmentconthe UnitedsStates .Qf- America for governmental purposes without :the :pay-

ment of any royalties thereon :ortherefor.

.The invention relates-to illumination .of :dialtype insstmments andamorqpartienlarly,:itor-meansprovidingztace tillnmination f. tihfl1ll .13 60 degrees .ot. a dial, zwithout ing lamp; rand without complications ,of brush .contacts.

Various arrangements have previously rbeen usedifor ililuminatiug:thezfaceeof: a-iclock, :meter or other; instrument :to providetnightevisibilityrthereof; Amongitlresezrarezedge -.ilhimiuation;tdevices, which are generally =complex rand zezgpensive iwith iinsufficienr illuminationzresulting .afrom :the iiuefiicientilightttransmission .120 -.the .instrumentifaee. Anzother rtormtotillumination involves ;a: :central 11ight :snurce withinltherfaceeand in ifronttof the .dial,zto.vwhicha energy i-i's supplied byrconductorstcrossing the dialufacemndrthemthy causingsshadows and robscuring :a portion 'flfflhe i'dlal .aud theiindicia thereon, .or interfering with ithermovement rQf any peinters BSSOCiEttCdrthCICWith.

.ilhetpresent invention is @an improvement :imtace *illuintimation tachievedzby employementof One-".01" more,ilight resources, teither at sthe-ieenter cor :-at :points. distributed over ithe face 'ofuthe instrument 1110 which :energy :is .suppliedzhy means inf s'invisible conductors, which, therefore, :;do ;not

leave shadows or obscure indicia orindicatorszand ,dornot interfere with movement of the indicators.

It is,..therefore, aniobject of athe invention :-to provide an illuminated tdialaand indicating .means for an instrument which is'uniformlylighted Without'o'bscurance of, or tinterferencewith, indications thereon.

, #3 further object of ..the invention isto provide .isimple rand improved means of uniformly lighting aniinstrument Me.

:A still further object is to providerinvisible imeansjfor tcnergizinggairinstrumentlamp.

Amtheriobiect is .to provide "a itransparcnt ilaminated instrument face containing conductors for energization of an illuminating device, or an indicator therefore.

With these and other objects in view, as will hereinafter more fully appear, and which will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, reference is now made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a vertical section of a preferred embodiment of the invention employing front illumination;

Fig. 2 illustrates in vertical section an alternate form of the invention employing an internally illuminated indicator; and

Fig. 3 illustrates in vertical section an alternate form of the invention similar .to that of Fig. 2, except employing a single thickness of glass cover with transparent conducting layer secured thereto.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like characters represent like parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated the upper portion of an instrument 11 having a casing 12 and a dial plate 13 with indicia 14 and 15 there- 2,738,759 Patented Mar. 20, 1956 2 ion,:overswhichtindioatorsalti andE17:0perate totprovidexin- :formationrde'sired. Hollow: shaft .18 mndashaft s19'-,rslrown broken away, textenditoi the mechanism 'of'rthezinsti'iunent I 'provid'etrota'tioniofindicatorsi16 and 17..

1"he;dialv 13 is: supported inzanyaconventional mannerrin casing 12, for; instanceisbyxringsi'fi. :an'd's21 whicht'may-tengage;grooves:orzthreadsdn the; casingrIZsonmayzbe securd thereto by soldering, screws, or thei'like. v: Ihe"casing-tis preferably:providedrwith afurth'er; ring 22:.adaptedltot1support; a :trarrsparent: instrumentaface'ficonsisting, tforit'example, :of :ar laminated11ransparent;.structure including Iran'sparent :platesr23,t24zand:2510f glass or. plastic, as'zmaydie desire-d, aand.rhaving'ztherebetween ctransparent'tconducting .layersi26iand '27 :therein zemployediifor. bringing ielectrical .current .to :the centerrofc'the-instrument face for-1 operating [a lightssource:

' Conductingrlayersiizmandfilare:preferably providediat the sedges. of rplatesi2'3f24 :and..25, -:or some 30f? them,"-:iwi'th ctumed cover :portions; 28 i and -29, illustrated Lin ':Eig."1.1. as iturnedcoveratheiplate 24am "form 'a conductoriaround'zthe periphery. While theilayers 26 aand'i27 ware-illustrated: as discs or ShCfiiSilOf .materialzcoveringitheifacesdf thearinstrumentiwithinrthe;casing.;12,-:.it will be tunderstoo'dtthatrthcy "mayrcomprise stripszot'ttransparent conducting paintza'cross ifrom 'onenside sot: the facerto'the center,.or of ;-a ;plurality of i'SllCh :strips. :lhermaterialwfathese:stripsamayibe zany -:o.'f :the presently known :transparent :conductor imaterials, ;.for.example-tsilverzchloride. Whilerlayers'iZG 'and 27mm shownaas;havingrt-appreciableL:th-ickness:they: may consistcof 'very' thin trdeposited zlayers ofxrmaterial, zsuch 'as i'might :be

applied byesputtering techniques, iandtmay be:of.tmolecular dimensions. Where a: thin ideposited. layer ofitherconduct- .ing rrnateriali isizapplied, it isx preferable :tor'employ rat least a large ,portiontof theifacer-areain :orriertlrat..the':thinzcon- 'tductiverl'ayertmayzbe ablezto 'carry.sufficient electricalrcuri sure ;plates,- 1'01 otherv suitable contact :making means; iIn Big. 31, connection :issmadeiby means ofza'zringifilswithin the seasing :12 Eandeextendingncircumferentially v"around platen-24; iRingu-Silnis adapted-to zfit snugly iag-ainstrzthe turned upwedge 28%and isiillustrated as forming :electrical :contactibetween tithe sedge :28'i'and :the :casing Likewiseaturnedmp zedge.29rformsrcontactiwith:atsimilar ring .32 snuglytfittetiithereabout. iliofproviderinsulationibetween .ring {32 and teasing 212 an insulating :ring .SQEof-rrxlbherror x'Elie leasing 12eand ringfiihmayzthenabe:energizedibyrcunnecation of leadsfifimma powerzsourceithereto.

.-In order-tto \provide :a :suitable rrigi'd sand/durable inaction to damp ibu'lb 30-,2. ndis'c MKmayPb'e'iemployed illustratively shown as recessed Within plate 23 and of thickness at least equal to the extent of the recess such that disc 34 bears against conducting layer 26 at the center of the face. Plates 24 and 25 are preferably equipped with a central aperture to receive lamp 30, which may be supported by ring 35 which in turn makes electrical contact with the outer shell element normally a part of small instrument lamps, whether of the screw type or other form as may be desired. To provide contact between ring 35 and conducting layer 27 plate 25 is conveniently recessed in the outer surface thereof for a short distance around the central opening which receives lamp 30. The recess is made slightly shallower than the thickness'of ring 35 in order that contact between the ring and the layer 27 will be assured as plates 23 and 25 are pressed against plate 24. The lamp is illustrated as having a central end terminal 36 hearing against disc 34 and shell member 37 contacting, and supported by, ring 35. It is further desirable to employ a shade 38 to prevent direct transmission of light from lamp 30 to and through the face plates of the instrument.

and 35, may conveniently form a composite transparent face either cemented together by a suitable transparent adhesive or may merely be held in mutual contact between ring 22 and a suitable pressure ring attached to casing 12 such as illustrated in Fig. l as a turned over edge 39. For convenience in disassembling, the holding means 39 may be threaded ring or pressure ring forming a part of casing 12.

In Fig. 2 there is illustrated a simpler construction of a composite transparent conducting face plate or sandwich comprising elements 23, 24, 26 and 27 Where the elements 26 and 27 are deposited on or cemented to elements 23 and 24, thus making the third supporting plate unnecessary. A further modification of the instrument of Fig. l is illustrated as comprising an indicator arm 41 of transparent light-conducting plastic which serves as the means of transmitting light from lamp 30 to the indicia illustrated at 14 and 15. Various shapes and designs for such a light-conducting arm 41 are known in the art and are not further described here. The shaft 19 is preferably provided with an opaque cup 42 surrounding the lamp and supporting arm 41, the cup being provided with window openings as desired thereabout for facilitating transmission of light from the cup to the indicating arm 41. The lamp itself may be supported in any convenient manner, being illustrated as attached by a press fit to a second cup 43 suspended from plate 24 and electrically connected to a conducting layer 27 as by leads 47, energizing means being completed by connecting one terminal of the lamp with conductor 26 as illustrated at 44 and 46. Access to the lamp for replacement or adjustment purposes may be provided in the form of an aperture in plate 23 closed by button 45.

General illumination of the face of the instrument of Fig. 2 may be provided by forming the side walls of cups 42 and 43 with transparent light difiusing windows.

In Fig. 3, an indicator member 51 is illustrated as attached to shaft 19, the member 51 being of special design to render the same visible apart from general illumination of the face. With the construction of Fig. 3 employing a plate 23 and conducting layer 26 thereon with a contacting member 48 centrally located for supplying energy to an illuminating device, a lamp such as 30 could be employed with one terminal connected to 48 by a suitable lead and the other terminal connected to shaft 19, in the general manner illustrated in Fig. 2. A further modification permits use of a position indicating member 51 without general illumination. This modification employs a metallic backing at 51 with a coating of material 52 thereon which is electro-luminescent. This material has the characteristic of visibly glowing when an electric potential is imposed thereacross. For this purpose, a layer of transparent conducting material 56 may be deposited on thelayer 52 of luminescent material. A flexible lead, or pig tail, 49 may then extend from the pad 48 to make contact with the circuit of layer 56, which serves to distribute electrical potential over the front face of the indicator element. The layer 52 is non-conducting and supports the potential difierence applied between layer 56 and member 51, the latter memoer being grounded through shaft 19. In this case only the indicating hand is seen as the instrument is observed. Regardless of the type illumination used in the construction of Fig. 3, a single conducting layer 26 replaces the sandwich of Fig. 1 or Fig. 2. Conductors 55 are then conveniently attached by soldering or other means as convenient to the casing 12 and the conducting layer 26.

it may be noted that when the resistance of the thin sheet conductor is selected to provide particular voltage drops and consequent heating effects as desired the transparent face conductor becomes an efiicient means for defrosting and for preventing formation of moisture on, or fogging of, the instrument face.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood, that within the scope of the appended claim, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

An illuminated indicator comprising a casing, a dial face mounted Within said casing, indlcia means mounted about the periphery of said dial face, a transparent cover plate mounted within said casing, said plate comprising a plurality of alternate sheets of transparent material and transparent conducting material, light means energized from a power source through said transparent conducting sheets, said light means being centrally secured to said cover plate, means secured to said cover plate and partially shielding said light means, a shaft mounted centrally of said dial face, an opaque means mounted on said shaft and encompassing said partially shielded light means, a window formed in said opaque means, and a light conducting indicator arm mounted in said window and extending to said indicia whereby light from said light means is utilized to illuminate only the indicia to which said arm extends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,172,765 Kollsman Sept. 12, 1939 2,272,806 Klein et al Feb. 10, 1942 2,290,278 Failla July 21, 1942 2,314,817 Christensen Mar. 23, 1943 2,429,420 McMaster Oct. 21, 1947 2,599,710 Hathaway June 10, 1952 2,702,340 Thieblot Feb. 15, 1955 

